I think i might be able to answer the question i think you're trying to ask.

Photons aren't independent of the EM Field in the same way waves aren't independent of the ocean. In this analogy the crest of the wave would be considered "the photon". occasionally the crest of the wave has enough energy (is large enough) that it can go over the bow of a ship and cause havoc (analogy of an interaction) we personally see that as a single wave that caused an event on the ship, but the reality is that its just the ocean interacting with its environment.

except the ocean surface is a 2 + 1 dimensional with 1 degree of freedom(energy/height) where as the EM field is 3+1 with many degrees of freedom (spin, charge, etc.) so the interactions are more complex.

its probably not any more helpful than any other reply, but its how i "visualise" the wave/particle duality without it being 2 seperate things. (its an analogy, so it will fail at some point. only the maths will gives you actual insight into behaviour, trust the maths, everything else is an approximation)